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Have I mentioned BookMooch?
BookMooch is a web site I run which helps people swap their used books with others.
It's been wildly successful: over 800,000 books are exchanged (mooched) each year (almost 4 million total), across 91 countries. The site is fully localized in 8 languages.
I just realized this week that except for the day of its launch (back in 2006), I have neglected to mention this other major site I run, to those of you who know Magnatune. These are the two facets to my life: music and books, and I really should cross-fertilize a bit more!
How BookMooch works
On BookMooch, once you finish reading a book, and you don't see any reason to store it perpetually on your bookshelf, you list it for giving. When someone wants it, you postal mail it to them. That earns you one book point, which you can use to get a book from anybody else on BookMooch. There is no money exchanged and no cost associated with the transaction (other than the postal costs).
There are no fees to use BookMooch: it is supported by voluntary donations and the occasional book-related ad (which you can choose to disable if they annoy you). I do all the technology work, and a network of volunteers do all the support.
The are other dimensions to it as well, such as:
You can read more about BookMooch at its Wikipedia Page or visit BookMooch yourself.
If you're a Magnatune fan and discover BookMooch through this blog entry, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!
-john
Posted by John Buckman on March 23, 2012 at 11:56 AM | Permalink
Comments
wahoo, mr Buckman, you really are someone special
not only do i trust and follow you regarding new musical expression,
but you are an active member re: the written thing.
I express here all my bewilderment toward your engagment.
Well done.
Posted by: Bruno Poterie at Mar 23, 2012 1:26:29 PM
Thank you for sharing (via email blast)! Always good to have passions that help a large number of people and don't necessarily take all your energy to maintain. I will be sharing this site with my mom, too! Thank you!
Posted by: Jeeni at Mar 24, 2012 12:51:47 AM
Thank you! I have joined and am looking forward to mooching books with my fellow bookworms :-)
Posted by: Kirstie at Mar 24, 2012 6:25:06 AM
This is a wonderful idea. It would have been great to find out about this earlier. It would have been a way to get books in my native language (Dutch). At this point, I am considering going digital with my books (as I already did with my music) and avoid transatlantic mailing costs altogether.
Posted by: Frank at Mar 24, 2012 11:24:42 AM
Lovely idea!
On the charities front, I have a couple of addresses to send children's books to for schools in Matabeleland (a region in Zimbabwe). Some of those schools have virtually no books, all are very deficient. I have been doing it myself by occasional raids on Oxfam bookshops. It would be very nice if Bookmooch, or any who reads this note, could help?
Posted by: Clement at Mar 25, 2012 11:36:34 AM
I'm a book lover and have been hanging onto a couple of books that I know I'll never read again, but can't bring myself to throw away (but I have been looking for someone to give them a good home).
Bookmooch is an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing the site.
Posted by: Jemmy at Jul 18, 2012 7:30:50 AM
